STYLE AND CULTURE

THE 5 MOST STYLISH HORROR FILMS EVER

By Lakeisha Goedluck, 26 October 2018

With less than a week to go until Halloween, now’s the time to really get into the spirit of things. Whether you’re low on costume ideas or up for taking sartorial tips from unlikely sources, here’s our list of horror films that are so stylish, it’s scary.

The Shining

From A Clockwork Orange to Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick made a number of terror-inducing films in his time, but none are quite as unnerving as The Shining. Based on Stephen King's famous novel, Jack Nicholson stars as Jack Torrance – recovering alcoholic, writer and caretaker of the mysterious Overlook Hotel – who descends into lunacy and becomes intent on murdering his family. Between a pair of creepy twins, a moulding old lady and a hallway swathed in blood, Torrance is plagued by the hotel’s ghoulish goings-on. Watch him transition from failed family man to maniac in the slickest check shirt, Harrington jacket and jeans combo you’ll ever see an on-screen psycho wear. Here's Johnny!

Scream

Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I Know What You Did Last Summer… Yep, the teen slasher is a major horror sub-genre. One of the most iconic examples has to be Wes Craven's Scream. The opening scene is hard to forget: a young Drew Barrymore, home all alone, is taunted on the phone by a mysterious caller who ends up being her killer. A mix of tension and self-parody, it brought together the ultimate mid-90s dream team of Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Rose McGowan and Skeet Ulrich. Alongside the usual doses of blood and gore, expect staple blue shirts and unbuttoned polos worn over classic white tees, and of course, the iconic Scream mask.

A Nightmare On Elm Street

Now, if there was ever a solid reason to prevent yourself from falling asleep again mid-lecture/Monday morning meeting, then Freddy Kruger is it. Another Wes Craven creation, the character has been infiltrating dreams since he first tore his way onto the big screen back in 1984. A Nightmare On Elm Street tells the tale of Kruger – a child killer who is set on fire by angry parents eager to protect their kids. Although his body is incinerated, his spirit lives on; Kruger manages to murder his victims in the real world by slaying them in their sleep. Played by Robert Englund, the mass murderer’s uniform of a fedora and striped jumper is instantly recognisable – but we’d advise against copying the clawed glove.

American Psycho

Christian Bale is often celebrated as one of today’s greatest living actors. His chameleonic ability to portray everything from frail factory worker Trevor Reznik in The Machinist to troubled vigilante Batman in Christopher Nolan’s epic trilogy is nothing short of extraordinary. But it’s his turn as Patrick Bateman in Mary Harron’s American Psycho that’ll really get under your skin. Based on the disturbing book by Bret Easton Ellis, Bateman is the pristine Manhattan banker who moonlights as a misogynistic serial killer. And just so happens to have a selection of sharp 80s suits that are to die for.

Pictures: Rex

Children Of The Corn

Out of all the terrifying male leads in this list, none are a match for the peculiar pre-teens in Fritz Kiersch’s The Children Of The Corn. An eerie kid unleashing havoc is a popular horror movie trope – The Omen, Carrie, the list goes on – but a group of them collectively behaving in a deranged manner is a whole different story. Another film inspired by the work of Stephen King, the children of the fictional town Gatlin, Nebraska, sacrifice members of their cult in order to satisfy the deity which rules the corn fields around them. Unsettling to say the least, the homicidal bunch dressed in plaid shirts, pinstripe blazers and wide-brimmed hats is a sight to behold.